Saoirse Ronan Calls Ryan Gosling 'a Blond Canadian Jesus' After He Got People to Start Pronouncing Her Name Correctly

At the 2016 Palm Springs International Film Festival Gala on Saturday, the Brooklyn actress, 21, sang the praises of Ryan Gosling to PEOPLE, noting that no one could pronounce her Irish name (“Ser-sha”) until the actor intervened.

Presenting Ronan with the New Hollywood Award at the Hollywood Film Awards in November, Gosling said, “It’s Ser-sha, like inertia” – and suddenly, people started pronouncing her name correctly.

“Someone sent me a photo two weeks later of a cinema in Minnesota, and on the sign in the front it said “Brooklyn” and then underneath it said, ‘Ser-sha, Like Inertia,”‘ Ronan tells PEOPLE. “I couldn’t believe it! They actually put it on the front of the cinema, so the power of Ryan Gosling is stronger than anything else.”

While presenting her award, Gosling had also called Ronan one of his favorite actresses – and people. The feeling is clearly mutual.

“He’s like, Jesus or something, like a blond Canadian Jesus,” Ronan tells PEOPLE.

The Irish starlet learned of her Golden Globe nomination – Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama – for her role as an Irish immigrant in Brooklyn while she was at the nail salon.

“I was in the nail salon getting my nails done and my phone kept dining, but I couldn’t answer because my nails were wet. When I finally answered, I got the news,” she previously told PEOPLE, noting that she shrieked with excitement. “I told everyone at the salon. They were congratulating me, and we even popped champagne.”